In probably 90% of life situations, proper planning is a key element of success. Whether it’s running a business, operating a family budget, taking a big vacation, or mapping out a retirement strategy, the more details you can get planned out in advance the better.
However, in training I have seen this mentality and habit limit a trainees progression on several occasions.
In each circumstance I think the exact reasons why progress gets stalled are a little different, but for the most part I think it really boils down to two things:
#1: Focusing on Failure Becomes a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
Nine times out of ten, when a client is talking to me about trying to map out their plan 3 months or 6 months from now their question is basically framed as “What should I do when I start to stall?” or “What adjustments do I make when I start missing weights?” This type of mentality is especially problematic when a trainee has just started a new program or maybe even hasn’t started yet! So they’re already focused on their eventual failure rather than thinking “How do I make this program work for me?”
So the problem isn’t really the fact that they are planning ahead….it’s that most of the time future planning is framed in the negative.
I know it seems like a subtle difference, but I think it’s actually really profound in practice.
Do you think you’ll become more financially successful if you wake up every day thinking “How can I avoid going broke today?” or “How can I create the most value for my customers/employer today?”
100 out of 100 times I’d place my bets on the guy who says the latter.
Let’s look at the sports world. If you are unfortunate enough to be a Houston Texans fan like me, you have had a front row seat to some epically bad quarterbacking over the last few years. Anyone remember the colossal overnight meltdown of Matt Schaub a few years ago? Here was a guy who went from a top 5 QB in the league year in and year out to a guy that could only complete a pass to the opposing team!
It was sad to watch as week by week he continued to lose more and more confidence. You could almost see the little “thought bubble” over his head as he took the snap from center –
“Don’t throw a pick! Don’t throw a pick! Don’t throw a pick!”
So what did he do……he threw a pick.
Instead look at a guy like Tom Brady who exudes confidence on the football field. Does he think “Don’t throw a pick!” when he drops back for a pass? No way. He is thinking about and expecting success. He’s thinking about first downs and touchdowns. And guess what……He gets a lot of both. Does he still throw the occasional interception….sure. But he throws a lot more touchdowns each year than he does interceptions.
Application for you…….
This same mentality should be applied to your training. Don’t focus on the failure that might come down the road. Don’t focus on missed reps and bad workouts. Instead, focus on how to make your next workout, your next week, your next month, a success. Plan for success, not for failure. Expect success and you’ll see more of it.
Even within your own individual workouts you should apply this type of thinking. If you are climbing under the squat bar focused on “How am I gonna set this down on the pins without getting hurt in case I miss?” then I bet you don’t complete your set. You’re focused on failure and your brain and body will follow suit.
So what about injuries???
In my 15+ years of coaching I’ve made an interesting observation….you know who gets hurt all the time?
Those that think about getting hurt all the time.
They read about injuries, they think about injuries, they talk about injuries, they desperately fear injuries. And guess what…..they get injured. Almost inadvertently willing it upon themselves.
Why does this happen? To be honest – I have no idea. Like I said, its just an observation I’ve made after coaching for 15+ years. But like the CIA says – there is no such thing as coincidence.
But I do know their mentality under the barbell. They aren’t focused on completing their rep or their set with perfect form and 100% focused aggression They are thinking “I hope I don’t get hurt!” And they get hurt. They think like Matt Schaub at quarterback “Don’t throw a pick!!” Instead of thinking like Tom Brady – “Where is the end-zone?!”
#2 Too Much Planning Ahead Causes Lost Focus on Critical Details of Today
The success of a guy like Tom Brady doesn’t just come from a superior mentality. It also comes from a mastery of the fundamentals and a focus on small details going into the next game or even the next play.
We often hear clichés from coaches and players in the sports world when they are asked a question about an event set to occur sometime in the future. Reporters love to ask questions about a big primetime match up with an arch rival, looming on the horizon in 2-3 weeks. Or how does the team feel about their chances for making the play offs, etc, etc. Coaches and players are trained to give the same old boring answer “You know, we’re really just focused on today. We want to make sure we have a great practice today so we are prepared for the game THIS Sunday.”
Reporters and fans roll their eyes. But there is TRUTH and POWER in this approach.
Don’t focus on what is going to happen with your training a month from now. Focus on today. Focus on your NEXT session.
- Do you need to add a set somewhere? Take out a set?
- Swap an exercise out for a variant exercise?
- Do you need to change 3×5 to 4×4 on a given exercise?
- Am I gonna get enough sleep tonight to have a great day tomorrow?
- What am I having for dinner tonight that will fuel me for tomorrow?
- Do I have breakfast planned out so I don’t miss it during a rushed morning?
- Do I have enough time to train so I can take full rest times between work sets?
- Did I clear out my inbox so I’m not “working” from my phone while I’m trying to train?
- Can I improve my form in anyway to make my movements more efficient?
Too often, I see clients of mine that are always focused on the future. When do I switch programs? How do I know I need a new program? What happens when I get stuck?
If you aren’t stuck now, then don’t worry about it. Focus too much on the future and you’ll lose sight of the critical details that need to be addressed today. Form, nutrition, sleep, stress management, time management, small programming tweaks, etc, etc.
And when you start losing sight of the small, but critical details of today, you will get stuck. And again we are back to the self fulfilling prophecy. The manufactured sense of a need for change……has created a need for change.
